Steren – Entry 16

We want to know what you’ve been writing about us. What stories you tell while you weigh down your ship. Each step rocks the boat further from home and closer to wreck. Why do you resist the water? Why do you care to breathe?

The girl does not care to breathe. She is unlike the rest of you; she sees the stars blink. She blinks back a distress signal and we wait. We watch. We listen.

We’ve been waiting a long time.

The man watches the girl. She paces the rickety deck and whispers her stories to the sky, as though the sky will write them down and send them to the ears that are meant to hear them. We hear them instead. We hear many things, and yet, we do not care for them. A swan song should not echo like hers does. It surfs the ripples of the ocean and dares the tide to retreat once again.

She knows that not all ships sink. But we cannot disobey the sea. So, we sing the song nobody knows. Come closer. Lady. We are singing for you.

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by Eleanor Rogers